Smoke detector alerts man to fire; good reminder to change batteries

A smoke alarm alerted an Edmonds man to a fire in his living room that caused more than $28,000 damage early Friday morning.

The man reported the fire at his two-story home in the 700 block of Edmonds Way around 12:15 a.m. He told firefighters he was in an upstairs bedroom when he heard the smoke alarm sound and discovered a fire in the living room on the first floor of the house. The man, who lives alone, safely exited the house. There were no injuries.

“There were flames in the living room when firefighters entered the house. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire and limit fire damage to a small area in front of the fireplace,” said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1, which provides fire and emergency medical service in Edmonds.

The fire marshal determined the fire was accidental and was started by logs that rolled out of the fireplace. The fire burned an area of floor and carpet in front of the fireplace and caused smoke damage to the living room and adjacent areas. The homeowner has insurance.

“The smoke alarm did exactly what it was supposed to do: it gave the homeowner the early warning he needed to get out of his house safely,” Hynes said.

Fire District 1 is joining other fire departments in Snohomish County in encouraging citizens to check their smoke alarm batteries March 13, known as Smoke Alarm Saturday, as they change their clocks to Daylight Savings Time.

“We know smoke alarms can save lives, but they lose that ability if the batteries have been removed or aren’t in working order,” Hynes said.

Fire District 1 firefighters will be going door-to-door in five neighborhoods on Saturday to install free smoke alarms and check smoke alarm batteries as part of Smoke Alarm Saturday sponsored by the Snohomish County Fire Prevention Association.

Fire District 1 firefighters will also be at these Edmonds businesses on Smoke Alarm Saturday to handout information about smoke alarms and to remind citizens to change their smoke alarm batteries when they change their clocks to Daylight Savings Time this weekend:

-Top Foods, 220th Street Southwest and Highway 99

-Petosa’s Grocery, 550 5th Ave.

Fire District 1 offers these tips for home fire safety:

– Smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old should be replaced. Aging smoke alarms are unreliable and often are the source of nuisance alarms.

– Make sure you have smoke alarms where you need them. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, in each bedroom and hallway.

– Fire drills aren’t just for schools; practice escape at home too. Develop an escape plan with two ways out of every room, then practice so everyone knows what to do when the smoke alarm sounds.

– Home fire sprinklers save lives and property. If at all possible, install residential sprinklers in your home.

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